Classifications

• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
  • A61K—PREPARATIONS FOR MEDICAL, DENTAL OR TOILETRY PURPOSES
  • A61K39/00—Medicinal preparations containing antigens or antibodies
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
  • A61K—PREPARATIONS FOR MEDICAL, DENTAL OR TOILETRY PURPOSES
  • A61K39/00—Medicinal preparations containing antigens or antibodies
  • A61K39/0005—Vertebrate antigens
  • A61K39/0008—Antigens related to auto-immune diseases; Preparations to induce self-tolerance
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
  • A61P—SPECIFIC THERAPEUTIC ACTIVITY OF CHEMICAL COMPOUNDS OR MEDICINAL PREPARATIONS
  • A61P19/00—Drugs for skeletal disorders
  • A61P19/08—Drugs for skeletal disorders for bone diseases, e.g. rachitism, Paget's disease
  • A61P19/10—Drugs for skeletal disorders for bone diseases, e.g. rachitism, Paget's disease for osteoporosis
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
  • A61P—SPECIFIC THERAPEUTIC ACTIVITY OF CHEMICAL COMPOUNDS OR MEDICINAL PREPARATIONS
  • A61P35/00—Antineoplastic agents
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
  • A61P—SPECIFIC THERAPEUTIC ACTIVITY OF CHEMICAL COMPOUNDS OR MEDICINAL PREPARATIONS
  • A61P37/00—Drugs for immunological or allergic disorders
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
  • A61P—SPECIFIC THERAPEUTIC ACTIVITY OF CHEMICAL COMPOUNDS OR MEDICINAL PREPARATIONS
  • A61P37/00—Drugs for immunological or allergic disorders
  • A61P37/02—Immunomodulators
  • A61P37/04—Immunostimulants
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
  • A61P—SPECIFIC THERAPEUTIC ACTIVITY OF CHEMICAL COMPOUNDS OR MEDICINAL PREPARATIONS
  • A61P43/00—Drugs for specific purposes, not provided for in groups A61P1/00-A61P41/00
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
  • A61K—PREPARATIONS FOR MEDICAL, DENTAL OR TOILETRY PURPOSES
  • A61K39/00—Medicinal preparations containing antigens or antibodies
  • A61K2039/555—Medicinal preparations containing antigens or antibodies characterised by a specific combination antigen/adjuvant
  • A61K2039/55505—Inorganic adjuvants

Definitions

• the present invention relates to the use of muteins of a specific wild-type cytokine, that are also receptor antagonists of the latter, as immunogens to elicit antibodies against the wild-type cytokine, said antibodies being capable of neutralising the biological activity of the wild-type cytokine in diseases caused by an excessive production of the latter.
• human interleukin 6 is a polypeptide of 184 aminoacids belonging to the class of helical cytokines.
• Interleukin 6 is a multi-functional cytokine produced by various cell types. It acts as a differentiation and growth factor on cells of various types, for example the cells of the immune system, hepatocytes, kidney cells, haematopoietic stam cells, keratinocytes and neurons.
• hIL-6 excessive production of hIL-6 is causes a number of diseases, such as chronic auto-immune disorders, systemic lupus erythematosus, myeloma/plasmacytoma, post- menopausal osteoporosis and cancer cachexy.
• a subject of the present invention is in fact the use of mutants of a wild-type cytokine for the preparation of pharmaceutical compounds for the treatment or prevention of diseases caused by an over-production of this specific wild-type cytokine.
• a further subject of the present invention are pharmaceutical compounds for treatment of diseases caused by the excessive production of a wild-type cytokine, or vaccines for the prevention of said diseases containing as an active principle at least one mutant of that wild- type cytokine.
• the pharmaceutical compounds according to the present invention may be formulated according to known methods, which requires for example the presence of a pharmaceutically acceptable vehicle. Examples of these vehicles and methods of formulation can be found in Remington's Pharmaceutical Sciences. To form a pharmaceutically acceptable compound suitable for effective admninistration, these compounds must contain an effective amount of the active principle according to the present invention.
• the pharmaceutical compounds of the present invention are administered to an individual in amounts adequate to the disease, the weight, the sex and the age of the individual in question. Other factors include the method of administration.
• the pharmaceutical compounds according to the invention may be administered in a wide range of manners, for example subcutaneously, topically, orally and by intramuscular injection.
• the pharmaceutical compounds according to the present invention may be administered at therapeutic doses in a wide variety of forms, in conventional administration vehicles.
• these compounds according to the invention can be administered in doses to be taken orally in the form of tablets, capsules, pills, powders, granules, elixirs, ointments, solutions, suspensions, syrups and emulsions, or by injection.
• these compounds according to the invention may be administered endovenously, intraperitoneally, subcutaneously, topically with or without occlusion, or intramuscularly. All the above formes of dosage are well known to those skilled in the pharmaceutical field. In any case an effective, but non toxic amount of the active principle according to the invention must be used.
• the daily dose of this active principle may vary within a wide range of between 0.01 to 1000 mg per adult/per day.
• An effective amount of the active principle according to the invention is usually provided at a dosage of between approximately 0.001 mg/kg and approximately 100 mg/kg of body weight per day.
• the active principle which is made up of muteins of a specific wild-type cytokine, may be administered typically in a mixture with suitable diluents, excipients or pharmceutical vehicles (generally referred to by the general term “vehicles”) suitably selected so as to bear in mind the form of administration desired.
• vaccines are prepared in an injectable form, either as solutions or as suspensions.
• the preparation can be emulsionated, or the active principle, can be incapsulated in lyposomes.
• the active immieuxic ingredient is often mixed with pharmaceutically acceptable excipients that are compatible with the active ingredient. Suitable excipients are, for example, water, dextrose, glycerol, ethanol or the like and combinations thereof.
• the vaccine may contain small amounts of additional substances, such as, for example, wetting or emulsionating agents, pH buffering agents, and/or adjuvants to increase the effectiveness of the vaccine.
• the vaccines according to the invention are preferably administered parenterally, for example by means of either intramuscular or subcutaneous injection.
• Other formulations suitable for other methods of administration include- suppositories and oral formulations. These compounds contain from 10 to 95% of active ingredient, preferably between 25 and 70%.
• Figures la and lb show the results of the experiment of immunisation of normal and NSE/hIL-6 transgenic mice with wild-type hIL-6.
• Figures 2a and 2b show the results of the experiment of immunisation with the mutant form, briefly indicated as Santl (containing the mutations Tyr 31 Asp, Gly 35 Phe, Ser 118 Arg, Val 121 Asp, Gin 175 Ile, Ser 176 Arg, Gin ' 183 Ala and being an antagonist of hIL-6) in normal and in NSE/hI -6 transgenic mice.
• Figure 3 shows the results of the experiment aimed at verifying whether or not the antobodies developed in mice against Santl are also capable of recognising wild- type IL-6.
• Figure 4 shows the results of the experiment aimed at verifying whether or not the antibodies developed in NSE/hIL-6 transgenic mice immunised with the wild-type interleukin 6 mutant Santl are capable of neutralising the biological activity of wild-type human interleukin 6.
• Figures 5a and 5b show the results of experiments carried out in example 7.
• Figures 6a and 6b show the results of experiments carried out in example 11.
• the NSE/hIL-6 transgenic mice have integrated into their genome the cDNA of human interleukin 6, under the control of the rat neuro-specific enolase gene promote.
• NSE/hIL-6 transgenic mice a group of five mice
• recombinant human IL-6 as a control, siblings born in the same litter, but without the transgene were used.
• a group of five NSE/hIL-6 transgenic mice was also immunised with a mutant form of IL-6, called Santl (which does not have residual biological activity on human cells and behaves as an h-IL 6 receptor antagonist) , which contained the seven mutations indicated below: Tyr 31 Asp, Gly 35 Phe, Ser 118 Arg, Val 121 Asp, Gin 175 Ile, Ser 176 Arg, Gin 183 Ala.
• the immunisation protocol was as follows: at time zero a sample of blood (pre-immune sample) was taken in sequence from each animal, both transgenic and non, and then each animal was immunised intraperitoneally (IP) with 100 ⁇ g of antigen (wt hIL-6 or Santl, according to the group of mice) in the presence of Complete Freund Adjuvant (CFA) . Ten days after the first immunization, a blood sample was taken (sample 1) .
• first booster Twenty days after first immunization a second immunization was carried out (first booster) , again using 100 ⁇ g of antigen, in the presence of Incomplete Freund's Adjuvant (IFA) , followed ten days later (30 days from first immunization) by a second blood sample (sample 2) . Finally, fourty days after the first immunization a third immunization was carried out (second booster) again using 100 ⁇ g of antigen, in the presence of IFA, followed ten days later (50 days from first immunization) by the third blood sample (sample 3) . The corresponding serum was prepared from each of the blood samples, according to the state of the art.
• IFA Incomplete Freund's Adjuvant
• ELISA Enzyme Linked ImmunoSorbent Assay
• the plastic in the wells was coated with proteins, incubating a solution of 0.8% BSA (Bovine Serum Albumin) in IX PBS for 4 hours at room temperature in each of the wells (an operation termed "blocking") . After removal of the "blocking" solution, 100 ⁇ l of each serum, suitably diluted, were incubated singly in each well for 90 minutes at room temperature: during this stage, if there are in the serum any antibodies for the antigen immobilised on the bottom of the well, these will bind the antigen itself, and will in turn be bound to the bottom of the well.
• BSA Bovine Serum Albumin
• mice antibodies After the 90 minute incubation period, the serums were removed from the wells and, after adequate washing, 100 ⁇ l of 0.8% BSA in 1XPBS containing rabbit antibodies directed against mouse antibodies were added to each well, and incubation was continued for 50 minutes at room temperature. During this stage, if mouse antibodies have recognised and bound the antigen immobilised on the bottom of the well, these mouse antibodies will be recognised and bound by the rabbit antibodies, which will thus in turn be immobilised on the bottom of the well. Furthermore, the rabbit antibodies directed against mouse antibodies (used diluted at a ratio of 1:100 in PBS/BSA for the above mentioned experiment) , which are produced and distributed by the company DAKO, are covalently linked to an enzyme, horseradish peroxidase.
• an enzyme horseradish peroxidase
• the absorbance (that is to say the amount of light absorbed) is proportional to the amount of enzyme, which is in turn proportional to the " amount of rabbit antibody, which is in turn proportional to the amount of mouse antibody directed against the antigen originally present in the serum.
• the measurement of the absorbance gives an estimate of the amount of mouse antibody directed against the antigen present in the serum. This is true if the mouse antibody against the antigen is the factor limiting the chain of reactions described above.
• FIG. la and lb show how the titer of the second and third samples are calculated for normal mice and for the NSE/hIL-6 transgenic mice, respectively.
• Figures 2a and 2b show the results of the experiment on immunisation using a mutant form o ⁇ f IL-6, Santl, of a typical normal mouse and of a typical NSE-hIL-6 transgenic mouse, respectively. In this case both the mice developed a large amount of anti-Santl antibodies.
• Figures 2a and 2b show how the titers of the second and third samples are calculated for the normal mouse and for the transgenic mouse. Table 1 gives a summary of titer data (calculated as indicated above) for the second and third sample for all the mice innoculated during this " experiment.
• mice innoculated with the wtIL-6 antigen it can be seen that, apart from the variations between one animal and another, on average the non- transgenic mice developed an antibody response against wtIL-6 10-20 times stronger than that obtained in the NSE/IL-6 transgenic mice, this being proof of the fact that the transgenic mice have developed an immune tollerance of human hIL-6.
• mice innoculated with the antigen Sant 1 it can be seen that, once again apart from the variations between one animal and another, on average the non-transgenic mice developed an antibody response - equivalent to that obtained in NSE/hIL-6 transgenic mice, suggesting that the seven mutations, which when introduced into hIL-6 generated Santl, have also rendered the mutant Santl a completely foreign protein for an immune system that otherwise displays tollerance to hIL-6.
• the an ibodies developed in the serum of NSE/hTL-6 immunized with Santl are capable of recognising not only
• FIG. 3 shows the results of the experiment for the NSE/hIL-6 transgenic mouse.
• the antibody responses obtained for Santl and for wild-type IL-6 are extremely similar. In other words, it is possible to detect the presence of antibodies that have bound the wtIL-6 immobilised on the bottom of the wells in the serum of the third sample, even when the latter is diluted to a ratio of 1:8100.
• NSE/hIL-6 transgenic mice are immunised directly using wild-type IL-6, the antibody response directed at wild-type IL-6 itself is much lower: in effect it is not possible to detect anti-wtIL-6 antibodies in serum diluted to 1:8100 (see figure 1) .
• Other NSE/hIL-6 transgenic mice showed a response similar to that of the mouse illustrated in the example.
• the object was to test whether or not these antibodies, developed in NSE/hIL-6 transgenic mice immunised with Santl, but capable of recognising wild- type IL-6, are also capable of neutralising the biological activitiy of wild-typ * e IL-6 itself.
• the biological activity of wild-type IL-6 under consideration was the ability to stimulate transcription by the C-reactive protein gene promoter in human Hep3B hepatoma cells.
• the effectiveness of stimulation of transcription was measured according to the state of the art (Gregory, B., Savino, R. and Ciliberto, G., J. Immunological Methods, 170, 47-56, 1994) .
• Human Hep3B hepatoma cells were stimulated with 4_ ng/ml of wild-type IL-6, in the presence of serial dilutions of the serum obtained in the third sample from two NSE/hIL-6 transgenic mice #4 and #5 (both immunised with Santl) .
• the results of the experiment are given in figure 4. It can be seen that both the serums diluted to 1:100 almost completely inhibit the biological activity of wild-type hIL-6 at 4 ng/ml on human hepatoma cells.
• immunisation using Santl as well as causing the appearance of a strong antibody response that recognises both Santl itself and the wtlL- 6, also causes an average decrease of over 500 times in the levels of hIL-6 that can be detected in the serum of the NSE/hIL-6 mice using the ELISA "sandwich" kit produced by R&D Systems.
• the objective was to test whether or not these antibodies, developed in NSE/hIL-6 transgenic mice vaccinated with Santl, and capable of cross-reacting with wtIL-6, are also capable of neutralising the biological activity of wild type hIL-6 in vivo, measured as inhibition of the increase of mouse SAA (mSAA) following the injection of hIL-6.
• mSAA mouse SAA
• pre-injection sample (hereon referred as pre-injection sample) was taken from unimmunised (control) NSE/hIL-6 mice, from wt hIL-6 immunised and from Santl immunised NSE/hIL-6 mice. After the animals recovered from the bleeding, they were injected intra-peritoneally with 10 ⁇ g of wt hIL-6. Nine hours after the injection, a second blood sample (hereon referred as post-injection sample) was taken from both groups of animals .
• Table 3 Increase in the levels of mSAA detectable in the serum of Santl-immunised and control NSE/hIL-6 transgenic mice after hIL-6 injection.
• mice group mouse pre-inject. post :-inject. single group number sample sample mouse average
• Control 14 140 ⁇ g/ml 613 ⁇ g/ml 4.4 9.01 unimmunised 21 47 ⁇ g/ml 479 ⁇ g/ml 10.13
• the objective was to determine whether a similar immune response, with high titer antibodies against Santl and also against wt hIL-6 could be raised in NSE/hIL-6 transgenic mice using an adjuvant commonly used for vaccination in humans.
• aluminun hydroxide was chosen, because it is today -the common adjuvant for human use, with an excellent track record of safety (Gupta, R. K. and Siber, G. R., Vaccine, 13, 1263-1276, 1995) .
• mice Groups of 8-10 NSE/hIL-6 transgenic mice (plus ten non-transgenic siblings born in the same litters used as controls) were immunized intraperitoneally with 100 ⁇ g of antigen (either Santl or wild type hIL-6) formulated in aluminum hydroxide at 1 mg/ml in a total volume of 100 ⁇ l (100 ⁇ g of aluminum hydroxide) for each injection, using an immunization protocol identical to the one described in the Example 1.
• the second blood sample taken after the second injection or first booster
• the third blood sample taken after the third injection or second booster
• titer To carry out objective measurements that are comparable for all animals the dilution of serum that gives a reading of 0.5 O.D.450 above the highest reading of the preimmune serum from the same animal has been conventionally termed "titer" .
• the titer was measured as illustrated in figures la, lb, 2a and 2b for both normal and transgenic mice immunized with wild type hIL-6 and with Santl . The results are reported in Table 4.
• the amount of antibodies against the antigen obtained in this immunization experiment is higher as compared with the amount of antibodies obtained in the immunization experiment described in Example 1; indeed, it is part of the state of the art the fact that aluminum adjuvants are the adjuvants of choice for induction of serum antibodies (Gupta, R. K. and Siber, G. R., Vaccine, 13, 1263-1276, 1995) .
• mice imunized with the wt hlL- 6 antigen it can be seen again that (apart from the variation from one animal and another) on average the non-transgenic mice developed an antibody response against wt hIL-6 12-18 times stronger than that obtained in_ NSE/hIL-6 transgenic mice, this being proof of the fact that the transgenic mice have developed an immune tolerance to human IL-6 also when this antigen is injected formulated in aluminum hydroxide as adjuvant.
• mice immunized with Santl formulated in aluminum hydroxide it can be seen that also in this case on average the non-transgenic mice developed an antibody response equivalent to that obtained in NSE/hIL-6 transgenic mice, as it was in the immunization experiment described in Example 1, suggesting that the seven mutations (which when introduced into hIL-6 generated Santl) have rendered the mutant a completely foreign protein also when formulated in aluminum hydroxide.
• Table 4 Immunogenicity of Santl and of wt hIL-6 formulated in aluminum hydroxide and injected intraperitoneally and NSE/hIL-6 transgenic and wild type control mice.
• Non-transgenic 30 21960 11848 mice 32 6070 15790 immunised 34 7460 46000 with 46 14145 19600 wild type 49 6240 18600 hIL-6 in 54 1270 6960 aluminum 56 218 320 hydroxide 58 5470 5260 via 63 ⁇ 2138 2373
• Non-transgenic 21 7580 30200 mice 26 3555 54330 immunised 27 2185 10960 with 28 9060 35700
• NSE/hIL-6 22 4520 33105 mice 35 3516 28690 immunised 38 9990 44680 with 44 3580 14430
• Thp antibodies developed in the serum of NSE/hTL-6 mice vaccinated with s ⁇ ntJ formulated in aluminum hydroxide are capable of recognising not only Santl but also wild-type hIL-6
• mice Mice group number wt hIL-6 Santl wt hIL-6 Santl
• NSE/hIL-6 22 2525 4520 31180 33105 mice 35 1925 3516 11860 28690 vaccinated 38 7065 9990 43850 44680 with 44 3580 3580 10585 14430
• the antibodies developed in NSK/hTT,-6 mi e vaccinated with Santl formulated in aluminum hydroxide are also able to neutralise the biological activity of wild type hI -6
• the objective was to test whether or not these antibodies, developed in NSE/hIL-6 transgenic mice vaccinated with Santl formulated in aluminum hydroxide, but capable of recognising wild type hIL-6, are also capable of neutralising the biological activity of wild type hIL-6 itself.
• the biological activity of wild-type IL-6 under consideration was the ability to stimulate transcription by the C-reactive gene promoter in human Hep3B hepatoma cells.
• the effectiveness of transcriptional stimulation was measured according to the state of the art (Gregory, B., Savino, R. and Ciliberto, G., J. Immimological Methods, 170, 47-56, 1994) .
• Human Hep3B hepatoma cells were stimulated with 4 ng/ml of wild-type hIL-6, and this extent of stimulation was taken as 100%, or with 4 ng/ml of wild type hIL-6 in the presence of serial dilutions of the serum obtained from the third blood sample from NSE/hIL-6 mice immunised with both Santl and wild type hIL-6; in the latter cases the extent of transcriptional stimulation was expressed as percent of the stimulation obtained in cells incubated with 4 ng/ml of wild type hIL-6 only.
• the results of the- experiment are given in Figures 5a and 5b.
• Table 6 Decrease in the levels of hIL-6 that can be detected in the serum of NSE/hIL-6 mice immunised with Santl and wt hIL-6 formulated in aluminum hydroxide.
• mice hIL-6 levels in the serum pg/ml mice
• NSE/hIL-6 35 27505 pg/ml 3522 pg/ml mice 51 24950 pg/ml 2662 pg/ml immunised 53 25817 pg/ml 4566 pg/ml with 60 23283 pg/ml 9810 pg/ml wild type 75 26373 pg/ml 8186 pg/ml hIL-6 in 85 23000 pg/ml 8959 pg/ml aluminum 87 25527 pg/ml 9172 pg/ml hydroxide 90 25590 pg/ml 20041 pg/ml via 93 23275 pg/ml 5834 pg/ml
• NSE/hIL-6 22 27300 pg/ml *9 pg/ml mice 35 31778 pg/ml *9 pg/ml immunised 38 25223 pg/ml *9 pg/ml with 44 29385 pg/ml 41 pg/ml
• Hie antibodies developed in NSE/h ⁇ ,-6 mic vaccinated with £ jUt formulated in aluminum hydroxide are able to neutralize the biological activity of wt h L- 6 al o in vi vo
• the objective was to test whether or not these antibodies, developed in NSE/hIL-6 transgenic mice vaccinated with Santl formulated in aluminum hydroxide, but capable of recognising wtIL-6, are also capable of neutralising the biological activity of wild type hIL-6 in vivo, measured as the increase of mouse SAA (mSAA) serum levels induced in the mice by injection of hIL-6, as described in the Example 4.
• the experiment was performed as described in the Example 4 on unimmunised (control) NSE/hIL-6 mice and on NSE/hIL-6 mice immunized with Santl formulated in aluminum hydroxide.
• Table 7 The results are summarised in Table 7.
• Table 7 Increase in the levels of mSAA detectable in the serum of Santl-vaccinated and control NSE/hIL-6 transgenic mice after hIL-6 injection.
• mice group mouse pre-m-ject . post - m-ject. single group number sample sample mouse average
• Control 20 41 ⁇ g/ml 146 ⁇ g/ml 3.6 5.41 unimmunised .21 bis 45 ⁇ g/ml 276 ⁇ g/ml 6.1
• Examples 5, 6, 7 and 8 above show that it is possible to obtain in animals otherwise tolerant to wt hIL-6 a strong antibody response against wt hIL-6 itself, that is able to neutralize hIL-6 bioactivity both in vi tro and in vivo, by using a mutant form of hIL-6 (Santl) formulated in an adjuvant (aluminum hydroxide) compatible with human use.
• hIL-6 Stret hIL-6
• an adjuvant aluminum hydroxide
• the objective was to determine whether a similar immune response, with high titer antibodies against Santl and also against wt hIL-6 could be raised in NSE/hIL-6 transgenic mice using an administration route used for vaccination in humans.
• Groups of 8-9 NSE/hIL-6 transgenic mice (plus ten non-transgenic siblings born in the same litters used as controls) were immunised intradermally (I.D.), an administration route in mouse which correspond to the sub-cutaneous (S.C.) administration route in humans, currently used for the administration of several vaccines as decribed in the state of the art.
• titer To carry out objective measurements that are comparable for all animals the dilution of serum that gives a reading of 0.5 O.D.450 above the highest reading of the preimmune serum from the same animal has been conventionally termed "titer" .
• the titer was measured as illustrated in figures la, lb, 2a and 2b for both normal and transgenic mice immunized with wild type hIL-6 and with Santl. The results are reported in Table 8.
• mice imunized with the wt hlL- 6 antigen it can be seen again that (apart from the variation from one animal and another) on average the non-transgenic mice developed an antibody response against wt hIL-6 40-50 times stronger than that obtained in NSE/hIL-6 transgenic mice, this being proof of the fact that the transgenic mice have developed an immune tolerance to human IL-6 also when this antigen is injected formulated in aluminum hydroxide via intra- dermal administration route.
• mice immunized with Santl formulated in aluminum hydroxide it can be seen that also in this case on average the non-transgenic mice developed an antibody response equivalent to that obtained in NSE/hIL-6 transgenic mice, as it was in the immunization experiments described in Examples 1 and 5, suggesting that the seven substitutions (which when introduced into hIL-6 generated Santl) have rendered the mutant a completely foreign protein also when formulated in aluminum hydroxide and injected via intradermal administration route.
• Non-transgenic 30 540 3670 mice 31 4370 13960 immunised 32 1770 10690 with 37 7860 13235
• EXAMPLE 10 The antibodies developed in the serum of NSE/hTL-6 mice vaccinated with. Santl formulated n l um hydroxide are capable of recognising not only Santl but also wild-type hIL-6
• mice Mice group number wt hIL-6 Santl wt hIL-6 Santl
• JT ⁇ L ⁇ antibodies developed in NSE/h ⁇ L-6 ice accin t d With Santl formulated in aluminum hydroxide and injected intradermally are also able to neutralise the biological activity of wild type hTL-6
• the objective was to test whether or not these antibodies, developed in NSE/hIL-6 transgenic mice vaccinated with Santl formulated in aluminum hydroxide and injected intradermally, are also capable of neutralising the biological activity of wild type hIL-6 itself.
• the biological activity of wild-type IL-6 under consideration was the ability to stimulate transcription by the C-reactive gene promoter in human Hep3B hepatoma cells.
• the effectiveness of transcriptional stimulation was measured according to the state of the art (Gregory, B., Savino, R. and Ciliberto, G., J. Immunological Methods, 170, 47-56, 1994) .
• the serum of all mice diluted 1:400 inhibits more than 80% of the biological activity of wild type hIL-6 at 4 ng/ml on human hepatoma cells.
• NSE/hIL-6 transgenic mice are immunised with wild type hIL-6 the very low amount of anti hIL-6 antibodies obtained is not sufficient to inhibit wild type hIL-6 biological activity on human hepatoma cells (see Figure 6b) .
• investigations were carried out as to whether or not the occurrance of this cross- reactive immune response against wild type hIL-6 was capable of altering the levels of wild type hIL-6 measured in the serum of NSE/hIL-6 transgenic mice immunised with both Santl and wild type hIL-6.
• the hIL-6 levels were measured as described in the Example 3 both in the pre-immune sample and in the third sample of both groups of mice. The results are summarised in Table 10.
• vaccination using Santl formulated in aluminum hydroxide and injected intradermally, as well as causing the appearance of a strong antibody response that recognises both Santl itself and the wild type hIL-6 also causes an average decrease of about 350 times in the levels of hIL-6 that can be detected in the serum of the NSE/hIL-6 transgenic mice.
• immunisation using wild type hIL-6 itself formulated in the same adjuvant causes only a marginal decrease (2.4-fold as compared with 350-fold) in the levels of hIL-6 that can be detected in the serum.
• Table 10 Decrease in the levels of hIL-6 that can be detected in the serum of NSE/hIL-6 mice immunised with Santl and wt hIL-6 formulated in aluminum hydroxide and injected intradermally.
• NSE/hIL-6 47 23790 pg/ml 5684 pg/ml mice 52 25450 pg/ml 3110 pg/ml immunised 62 26190 pg/ml 4490 pg/ml with 81 24690 pg/ml 25930 pg/ml wt hIL-6 86 22890 pg/ml 8600 pg/ml in aluminum 91 16600 pg/ml 6884 pg/ml hydroxide 96 16760 pg/ml 5800 pg/ml via I.D. 2 22970 pg/ml 14670 g/ml Averages of the group 22418 pg/ml 9396 pg/ml
• NSE/hIL-6 41 21640 pg/ml *9 pg/ml mice 42 19040 pg/ml *9 pg/ml immunised 47 22940 pg/ml 173 pg/ml with 48 23990 pg/ml *9 pg/ml
• the star (*) indicates the lower limit of sensitivity of the assay.
• ⁇ injected intradermally are able to neutralize tJaa biological activity of wt hII,-6 also in vi vo
• the objective was to test whether or not these antibodies, developed in NSE/hIL-6 transgenic mice vaccinated with Santl formulated in aluminum hydroxide and injected intradermally, are also capable of neutralising one of the biological activities of wild type hIL-6 in vivo, that is the increase of mouse SAA (mSAA) levels normally induced in the mice by injection of hIL-6, as described in the Example 4.
• the experiment was performed as described in the Example 4 on NSE/hIL-6 mice vaccinated with Santl formulated in aluminum hydroxide and injected intradermally. The values obtained have been compared with the control unimmunised mice of the experiments described in the Examples 4 (Table 3) and 8 (Table 7) .
• Table 11 The results are summarised in Table 11.
• Table 11 Increase in the levels of mSAA detectable in the serum of Santl-immunised and control NSE/hIL-6 transgenic mice after hIL-6 injection.
• mice group mouse pre-inject. post-inject. single group number sample sample mouse average
• Control 20 41 ⁇ g/ml 146 ⁇ g/ml 3.6 7.07 unimmunised 21 47 ⁇ g/ml 479 ⁇ g/ml 10.13

Landscapes

• Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
• Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
• Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
• Veterinary Medicine (AREA)
• Public Health (AREA)
• Medicinal Chemistry (AREA)
• General Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
• Animal Behavior & Ethology (AREA)
• Pharmacology & Pharmacy (AREA)
• Immunology (AREA)
• Nuclear Medicine, Radiotherapy & Molecular Imaging (AREA)
• General Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
• Chemical Kinetics & Catalysis (AREA)
• Organic Chemistry (AREA)
• Rheumatology (AREA)
• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Bioinformatics & Cheminformatics (AREA)
• Microbiology (AREA)
• Physical Education & Sports Medicine (AREA)
• Mycology (AREA)
• Epidemiology (AREA)
• Orthopedic Medicine & Surgery (AREA)
• Medicines Containing Antibodies Or Antigens For Use As Internal Diagnostic Agents (AREA)
• Medicines That Contain Protein Lipid Enzymes And Other Medicines (AREA)
• Peptides Or Proteins (AREA)
• Medicinal Preparation (AREA)
• Noise Elimination (AREA)
• Pharmaceuticals Containing Other Organic And Inorganic Compounds (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

Publications (2)

Family

ID=11403544

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (17)

Families Citing this family (5)

Family Cites Families (5)

• 1995
  • 1995-09-01 IT IT95RM000589A patent/IT1277926B1/it active IP Right Grant
• 1996
  • 1996-08-22 JP JP51104897A patent/JP3157837B2/ja not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 1996-08-22 CN CNB961972955A patent/CN1138562C/zh not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 1996-08-22 PT PT96930345T patent/PT858345E/pt unknown
  • 1996-08-22 KR KR1019980701561A patent/KR100279539B1/ko not_active IP Right Cessation
  • 1996-08-22 RU RU98105679/14A patent/RU2182014C2/ru not_active IP Right Cessation
  • 1996-08-22 CA CA002229045A patent/CA2229045C/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 1996-08-22 AT AT96930345T patent/ATE226446T1/de not_active IP Right Cessation
  • 1996-08-22 WO PCT/IT1996/000164 patent/WO1997009064A1/en active IP Right Grant
  • 1996-08-22 MX MX9801550A patent/MX9801550A/es not_active IP Right Cessation
  • 1996-08-22 AU AU69428/96A patent/AU703300B2/en not_active Ceased
  • 1996-08-22 ES ES96930345T patent/ES2183007T3/es not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 1996-08-22 DK DK96930345T patent/DK0858345T3/da active
  • 1996-08-22 EP EP96930345A patent/EP0858345B1/de not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 1996-08-22 DE DE69624498T patent/DE69624498T2/de not_active Expired - Fee Related
• 1999
  • 1999-03-09 HK HK99100962A patent/HK1015708A1/xx not_active IP Right Cessation
• 2000
  • 2000-04-27 US US09/559,950 patent/US6706261B1/en not_active Expired - Fee Related

Non-Patent Citations (1)

Also Published As

Similar Documents

Legal Events